Filed To Story: Craving The Wrong Brother Book PDF Free by Elysian Sparrow
Knox stands still.
I don’t look at him. I look at the officer behind the counter, and sure enough, he’s watching. Leaning on one elbow, chin tipped forward. His entire attention is locked on all of us.
On the married man being kissed on the cheek by his beautiful wife just released from custody. On the husband’s bland expression.
On me-watching it all happen.
And Knox is about to pull away. I can already sense it in his shifting weight.
I push to my feet and walk over, planting a fake smile on my face.
“It’s getting late,” I say. “We should leave.”
Soraya turns to me, still half-latched onto Knox. “Hello there. Do I know you?”
“This is Sloane. She’s my-“
“Friend,” I interrupt. “We’re very good friends. Co Successfully unlocked!
I turn on my heel and start walking, mostly to avoid Knox’s glare that’s currently burning into my back. They follow behind me. I don’t turn around. I just keep moving outside and toward my car at a fast pace. But the second I reach the car, I feel it-Knox’s hand. Strong and sudden around my waist.
The Wife
He grabs me and spins me to face him. My back hits the car door with a soft thud. His body is close, too close, his expression dark.
“What was that about, Bunny?” he says.
I glance past his shoulder. Soraya is lingering a few feet away, watching us with a strange expression.
“What was what about?” I ask.
“You saying we’re friends. And walking off like that.”
“What else was I supposed to say? I can’t very well introduce myself as your girlfriend while you’re picking your wife up from jail, can I?”
“You think I give a fuck about all that?” he says, voice dipping lower. “Don’t ever do that again.”
My chest tightens. My hands curl into fists at my sides. “Or else what, Knox?”
He steps in closer. Closer. The space between us disappears. I try to take a step back, but the car is right behind me-I’ve got nowhere to go. His body towers over mine.
He lifts his hand, cupping my jaw and tilting my chin up until my eyes have nowhere to go but his.
“You’re mine,” he says. “I don’t care who’s watching. You tell them you’re mine.”
His thumb brushes along my jaw, and my pulse becomes erratic.
A throat clears behind us.
The spell breaks.
We both turn.
Soraya’s arms are crossed over her chest. Her mouth pulls into a faint, dimpled smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Guys,” she says. “As much as this little scene is entertaining to watch, we’re still in the middle of a police station. And I have a lot of questions to ask Knox.”
Knox frowns, pulling away from me. “Questions?”
“Yes. Someone framed me for shoplifting in a jewelry store. I’d like to know why.”
“Wait-someone framed you?”
“That’s what I said.”
“They picked it up and dropped it into your bag?”
“You don’t believe me?”
“I want to,” he says. “I do.”
“You don’t. Why would I want to steal jewelry?”
Knox stares at her, not saying anything. Then he turns to me, like maybe I have the answer.
Soraya lets out a breath and shrugs.
“You know what?” she says. “I don’t care what you believe. We’ll discuss all that later. In your house.”
“My house?”
She nods. “Yeah. That’s where I’m staying tonight.”
Youthful Exuberance
It’s been a week since I found out Knox has a wife, and I’ve been ignoring everyone in my life like it’s a full-time job. My phone has turned into a graveyard of unread messages and missed calls-Knox, Finn, Serena, and my mom. But I can’t bring myself to open anything. Every time I see Knox’s name pop up, my chest tightens and I feel like I might shatter
I don’t know why I’m this mad. I don’t. It makes no rational sense. He told me the marriage wasn’t real. That it was a favor. That he did it to keep a promise. And I believe him. But none of that justifies the age I feel when I remember him kissing me goodnight at the precinct. Then him calling a cab and going home with her.
To ‘discuss her claim about being framed for shoplifting”
Sure
For all I know, Soraya dropped that bracelet into her own damn purse just to get his attention. Maybe that makes me sound paranoid. Delusional, even. But logic has never been my strong suit when I’m jealous. Because I am, indeed, jealous of that woman, jealous of the fact that the man I’m becoming very much attached to is legally bound to her
It’s lunch hour. Everyone else is out of the office, and I’m hunched over my desk like a woman possessed, Googling “Soraya Hartely
Nothing.
No photos. No gossip blogs. No scandals. Not even an old college yearbook image.
Her Instagram’s locked. Her Twitter’s been inactive since 2018. Her Facebook is completely private. No visible posts. Not even a profile picture. I tried looking through old posts by Dr. Yara Colburn. Still nothing. I even checked Reddit.
The only thing remotely public is her LinkedIn profile-a cold, impersonal list that says she’s been working as an assistant psychologist under Dr. Yara for about a year.
My mouse hovers over the tab for a people search site. You know, the shady kind that promises background reports and contact histories for a small fee. I’m considering it, actually considering it, when a voice startles me.
“Sloane?”
I jump and slam my laptop shut.
Two pairs of curious eyes stare down at me.
Jenna and Carla.
Office gossip royalty.
Jenna’s hair is in its usual flawless twist, a loose curl tucked behind one ear. She always smells faintly of vanilla. Carla, taller, with hoop earrings that swing when she moves and a phone permanently glued to her hand, grins like she’s caught me watching porn.
They must’ve just come back from lunch. Bags in hand, soda cups sweating condensation.
“You didn’t go out for lunch?” Jenna asks.
“Had a deadline,” I reply. “Needed to finish a project.”
They glance at each other like they know that’s a lie. Normally, they wouldn’t give me the time of day, so the fact that they’re both hovering over my desk with interest means they came for something.
I narrow my eyes. “What do you both want?”
“Jeez, can’t someone just want to talk to a fellow colleague?” Jenna says.
“Not you two.”
Carla laughs. “Okay, fine. A handsome man just paid us a grand to lure you outside the building. Says he’s your stepfather. Who has stepdaddies that hot?”
“Jade?”
“Is that his name?” Carla fans herself. “Sounds as hot as he looks.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.